Friends are like Family
by kkq
Summary: Jack is dead, and Alex is sent to BB. One soldier reaches out to him.  Will this finally be the ending Alex has been hoping for.   no slash or molestation or anything


**This story takes place at Breacon Beacons. Alex is sent there after Jack is murdered.**

Disclaimer: do not own

Alex POV

I wasn't even allowed to go to the funeral. Jack was dead, and I wasn't even allowed to go to her funeral. I get home from a mission, get debriefed, and get told the last of my family is gone. Blunt in his horrible monotone told me. "the bank" was my official legal guardians now, and I could kiss a life goodbye. It would be mission after mission until I died, or was useless, at which time I would probably be enrolled in some sort of crazy persons home for spy delusions. That was how I ended up here, again.

Armadillo, (POV)

I was new. It was recruitment time, and I was picked to go to the training facility! The first few days were tough, then it got easier. I knew I was going to make a difference, even if I got binned, at least I would be able to get a job as a security job, or a regular soldier. The best of the best didn't have to be me, as long as I got in to the workforce from this. My training unit was J, I thought it was pretty awesome, after my first name actually started with a J. They even gave me a code name, armadillo. I love those things, their armour is so strong, but their name is hard to say. Maybe I'll shorten it to something more like Dillo, or Dillio, or Dilly or something.

Alex (POV)

K-Unit wasn't there, thank god. I was assigned another unit, and I was the 5th member once again. I was now a member of E-Unit. I had moved up the ladder, yay. If you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm. I wanted to go home, have Jack ruffle my hair, and play video games with Tom. Yeah, that would never happen again. Jack was dead, and Tom, everyone else for that matter, thought I had died with her. Alex Rider was gone. Alex Reader/Cub had replaced him. I got a new name, new guardians, and a new place to live. It didn't matter that it was a military facility. I had my bunk, and a bag full of my possessions. Photos, an ipod, and one set of normal clothes. My new unit didn't like me much more than K-unit did. They aren't outright hostile, but they don't even acknowledge my presence. It's as if I didn't exist. I didn't mind though. I wanted to hide in the shadows, be anywhere but there. I guarded myself, I couldn't be vulnerable, to anything.

Armadillo (POV)

I saw the kid for the first time during my second week. He sat by himself at the very edge of E-Unit's table. He was closely guarded, and had a sort of cold, sad look in his eyes. It was hard to spot, but I wanted to be a psychiatrist before joing the SAS. I asked around about him, but all I could gather was that the kid couldn't get binned, and was good at everything, especially shooting. No one actually knew him. He had only come a few days after recruitment had ended. I felt really bad, I mean, what kind of kid wants to be stuck on some sort of military base for his youth. He should be worried about schoolwork, girls, and having the time of his life, not what the next training excerise is trying to kill him next. I decided in a day or two that I'd go and talk to him.

It was free time for both units. Cub was sitting under the really big tree. I deceded now would be the perfect time to talk to him. I stood behind him and asked to sit down. He just nodded. I felt kinda weird sitting there, so I introduced my self to him. He just said hey, so I asked him if everything was alright. He looked and opened his mouth as if to say something, closed it, thought for a second, and finally said no. I didn't think everything would be alright, but I expected him to keep it bottled up. He started by saying that he wasn't even allowed to go to her funeral. He then went on to tell me everything that had happened since his uncle had died. I'd occasionally input something from my own experience, but not often. His story was awesome, I mean, really cool. We became close friends, almost like brothers.

Alex (POV)

Dillo and I becaome close friends after that. He was almost like a big brither to me. It was great. I was happy for the first time since Jack died. Then he was binned. Dillo was binned. If he was disappointed, you should have seen me. I couldn't even look at him. More family, taken from me. I withdrew again, lived inside a protective bubble. I saw look that the other men gave me, but I didn't let it affect my dour mood. It was like this for two, three weeks after he left. Then the phone call came. MI6 had found me a guardian after 5 months. Come on, 5 months. That is a very long time. I gathered my bag, hopped in the car, and rode along to my destination, my new home. It was a small house. The chaufeer gave me 1000$, said it was for my clothes that I needed to buy. I walked up to the door, expecting the worst. Instead I got a twenty something year old lady. Introducing herself as Leah, she yelled to a guy in the kitchen. He turned, it was Dillo. I should have known. His face lit up when he saw me. It was good, I had felt wanted.

Armadillo

When I realized that the kid me and my fiancé got paid to adopt was Cub, I couldn't help but grin. My new little brother, and a 10,000$ monthly tax-free pay check for doing nothing, it was a great day for me. Leah could help him with his homework (she was a supply teacher) and he wasn't going to the government, they gave hima full retirement plan until he turned 21, where he could come out of retirement if he wished. We all lived together, and then Leah got pregnant. I had a daughter, and Alex had a little sister. They got along great, and life went on. We were in the cycle, and it went quite well. We all got what we wanted, and lived happily until Alex turned 21. But that is another story, and alex will find someone else to share it.

Alex & Jared


End file.
